Dark Pokémon Master
by shane1594
Summary: Ash's journey to become a Dark Pokémon Master. This is in response to a challenge by MathiasNightlord01
1. I Don't Choose You!

The night before Ash was set to receive his first Pokémon Ash was having trouble going to sleep. He was thinking, '_It's finally here, the day that I get to begin my Pokémon journey, and my first step to becoming a Master of Dark-Types. I wonder what kind of Pokémon I should choose...there's the  
fire-type Charmander, which evolves into Charizard, a Fire and Flying type Pokémon. That'd be a good choice for me as Flying types can counteract the weakness that a Dark type has against Fighting types. Then there's Bulbasaur, a pretty good all-rounder and it can also stop fighting type attacks with moves like Vine Whip. Squirtle is out of the question, it evolves into the super-slow Blastoise. Ah well, I guess that I might as well just decide between the two by de-petalling a flower tomorrow. Now...off to sleep...zzzz _'

At 10 o'clock the next day Delia called out "Ash, if you don't get up now you're not going to be able to receive a Pokémon from professor oak!"

Ash's eyes shot open as he thought '_That's today!_' he then threw the quilt off his bed and, grabbing a piece of toast off the kitchen bench, blasted through the front door and ran, still in his pyjamas, to Professor Oak's Laboratory in the hopes that there was still one Pokémon left for him to choose from. When he got there it was to see Gary leaving Professor Oak's Laboratory, kissing a Pokéball as he was surrounded by cheering 'fans'. Ash went up to him and asked, "So Gary, did you get a Pokémon too?"

"Yeah, I sure did Ashy-boy, and if you'd been on time you'd know that I got the best one!"

"The best one! What was that?"

"Hah, you snooze you lose, later Ashy-boy."

Ash growled in irritation as Gary drove off in a car with an entire cheer squad as passengers.

As Ash was about to yell something at Gary's disappearing car Professor Oak came out of the gates to his Lab and took a step back in alarm as he said, "Ash! You're here!"

"Well, yeah, this _is_ the day that I've been waiting for for most of my life."

"Well...I'm sorry, but there are no more starter Pokémon here."

"Huh?"

"Well, they all got taken by trainers that, like Gary, were on time."

"Oh come on, I've just got to have a Pokémon...I don't care what it is!"

"Well, alright, if you come back in half an hour I'll see what I can do."

"Alright, thanks Professor, you have no idea what this means to me!"

"Alright alright, just get going now."

Alright, be back in half an hour."

As Ash left Professor Oak sighed to himself as he thought '_jeez, now just what am I supposed to do now? There's no starter Pokémon here, nor is there any at the starter breeding centre that I use. And I certainly can't give Ash someone else's Pokémon...if only I had caught that Pikachu that I saw the other day...Well, I suppose that I could always try one of the other Kanto breeding centre's...' _with that thought in mind Professor Oak called every Kanto breeding centre, but each of them gave the same reply 'sorry, but we can't give you any, they aren't of a high enough level yet.' With that avenue denied him, Professor Oak went to his backup plan, calling his various contacts from different regions in the hopes that they might have one. Professor Oak decided to go with his newest acquaintance, Professor Juniper from the Unova Region. He dialled in the number of the Pokémon Research Laboratory in Nuvema Town, hoping that the professor was indeed there, as she was known for going off and doing field research. When the vid-phone was picked up on the other end Professor Oak said, "Professor Juniper, you're there!"

"Yes, it's good to hear from you professor, I read your article in Pokémon Professor's Monthly, your theory about Eevee and it's evolutionary capabilities was very interesting."

"Why thank you, your dissertation of variation based on location was just as riveting. But that's not why I called you now."

"It's not?"

"No, you see one of the new trainers got here late today and I am currently unable to supply him with a Pokémon for him to begin his journey with."

"I see, that's terrible, so what can I do about it?"

"Well, I was hoping that you could transfer over one of the starter Pokémon from your region."

"I see. Well, I'm sorry, but I don't have any right now, we just gave all of ours away to new trainers as well."

"I see. Well then I won't bother you on this matter any further."

"Although..."

"Yes!"

"Well, we had this Deino walk in to our lab the other day and it is on a level that a normal starting Pokémon would be on."

"Deino? What is that Pokémon?"

"Ah yes, out databases are yet to be added to those in your region of the world, aren't they?"

"Indeed, damn those pirates."

"Yes I agree, well anyway, Deino is the unevolved version of Hydreigon, the Unova Region's equivalent to Kanto's Dragonite."

"I see...can you tell me anything more about this Pokémon?"

"Why certainly. It's a Dark type Pokémon with a subsidiary Dragon type."

"A Dark type! Send it over immediately."

"Why is it being a dark-type important?"

"Yes, this Pokémon is going to go to a trainer called Ash Ketchum, he's always wanted to specialise in Dark type Pokémon so this is a brilliant situation."

"Alright, I'll transfer it right away," Professor Juniper said as she ran from the vid-phone to the room in her lab that contained the Pokéballs, retrieved the one containing Deino and then returned to the room with the vid-phone in it and placed the ball in the Pokémon Transfer Device and then sent it to Professor Oak. When it was done she said, "Alright Professor Oak, I just sent it over."

When the Pokémon Transfer Device in Professor Oak's Laboratory had a flash of energy surge from it and a Pokéball had materialised Professor Oak said, "Thank you, I just received it. Well, if ever you have something to discuss you can call me anytime."

"Thank you Professor, I might just take you up on that. Well, goodbye for now."

"Yes, see you later."

As the Professor was bidding Professor Juniper farewell Ash came bursting into the room and hyperactively demanded, "So, do you have a Pokémon for me Professor Oak?"

"Why yes Ash, I do indeed, and you'll like this one a whole lot more than you would have any of the normal starters."

"Really? Why is that Professor Oak?"

"Because Ash, it's a Dark type from a little known region that has lots of Pokémon not seen in this part of the world."

"Really! I suppose in my studies I only really focused on Pokémon and their attacks from here in Kanto and the other nearby regions."

"Yes well I'm not surprised, like I said, not many people from Kanto even know that the Unova Region exists!"

"Well, alright then. So, what Pokémon did you get me?"

"It's called a Deino. It's a Dark type Pokémon that also has the traits of a dragon type. I just received its Pokéball before you came in," Professor Oak said as he retrieved the Pokéball.

As Ash received it he profusely thanked the Professor for doing such a thing for him. Professor Oak told him to get going before Ash said, "Alright, see you later Professor," as he rushed out of the Lab, still in his pyjamas. When he exited through the gates to Professor Oak's Laboratory he found that his mother and all of her friends were there to send him off. Jessica, a co-ordinator that also just received her first Pokémon, was there as well. Ash, ignoring all of the other people that were there, turned to Jessica and asked, "Hey Jessie, what're you doing still here?"

"What do you mean by that Ash? How could you have forgotten?" Jessica replied, a teardrop appearing at the side of her left eye.

"Forgotten? Forgotten what?"

"You know, the promise that we made under the willow tree."

Delia, knowing the tree that they were talking about, saw red as she said, "Ash Ketchum! What have I told you about going near that tree!"

Ash gulped in fear as he foresaw the rant that his mother was about to go on. Trying to pre-empt her Ash said, "Uhh...what's that bag that you've got there?"

"Oh! This?" Delia asked, hefting the bag in her arms.

"Yeah, that's pretty much the only thing that I could be referring to. Isn't it?"

"Well...now that you mention it...Well no matter, it's your bag that has everything that you'll need on your journey. I've packed spare shirts, spare jeans, socks...oh yes, your spare underwear along with clothes washing detergent some plastic plates so you can't break anythi..."

Ash whined, "Mum, you're embarrassing me."

"Yes well I'm sorry, but I just worry about you."

"Well, thanks, but I think that we'll get going now."

"'We'? What do you mean 'we'?"

"Well, that's the agreement that Jessie and I were talking about. Before we go through the Kanto region we're heading through the Hoenn region first."

"Hoenn? Why is that honey?"

"Well, there's really not that many Dark type Pokémon here in Kanto, so I figured that, since the Hoenn Region has the most Dark type Pokémon I'd go through there first, and Jessie decided to go through there as well since the Pokémon contests there are considered more prestigious than the ones here."

"Oh, I see...but wait a minute, you'll need boat tickets to get to the Hoenn Region."

"I know, that's why both Jessie and I have been saving up our money for this past year, then we bought the tickets last week."

"I see...well good luck on both of your journeys."

"Thanks, see ya later," Ash waved as he started to walk off.

Jessie, with a bright red face, yelled, "Ash, we're not going anywhere just yet!"

Ash turned to look at his friend and asked, "Why not?"

"Even if you seem to be alright with it, I refuse to leave Pallet Town with someone that hasn't changed out of his pyjamas!"

Ash looked down at what he was wearing and gulped, saying "Your right, sorry," before rushing back into the professors lab to get dressed. When he re-emerged he was wearing a pair of black jeans, a black t-shirt and a black ankle-length coat that had detachable sleeves, and, most importantly, no hat. When he got back down to the gates he found that the crowd had dissipated, leaving only Jessica remaining. He said, "That better Jessie?"

Jessie smiled as she said, "Much, now, let's go, our boat leaves from South Pallet Town Port at twelve o'clock tomorrow, it's probably going to take us the rest of the day just to get there."

Ash said, "Yeah, you're right, let's go," as they started heading south, to Pallet Town Port.


	2. Pokémon Emergency!

Two hours after the two Pallet Town trainers left Pallet Town they stopped for lunch, due to Ash's almost unquenchable hunger. Jessica said, "Alright Ash, while I set everything up can you go and find some berries so I can add them to a stir-fry?"

Ash replied, "Yeah, sure thing, any kind in particular?"

"Yeah, Oran Berries are preferential for this one."

"Alright, see you in about twenty minutes."

"Okay, see you then" Jessie called out as Ash left the clearing that they were in.

10 minutes later Ash still hadn't found any Oran berries. As he thought, '_Alright Ash, think back to when you were reading up on the various berries...what was the conditions necessary for a tree to bear Oran berries?...Okay, there were a few options, but they all involve there being a great deal of light, but the light has to be filtered somehow, which means that the best place to look would be in a forest, although since we're actually in one, that bit doesn't really matter all that much...hmm...oh right, they tend to grow closer to the northern side of the forest._' Ash then went to the closes tree and saw that there was moss growing on one side of it. Ash thought, '_Alright, we're in the northern hemisphere, so the moss grows on the northern side of the trees._' He said to the almost empty forest, "Well, here goes nothing," as he headed in the direction that the moss was telling him to go. Five minutes later Ash came upon the Oran berry tree that he had been searching for and picked some of them to use in his and Jessie's lunch.

Ten minutes later Jessie was beginning to freak out, worried for Ash's safety as it had passed the time that they had agreed on for him to return by. When he emerged from the northern side of the clearing Jessie said, "You're late!"

Ash scratched his head as he said, "Yeah, well I kind of went the wrong way in the beginning, then I had some problems finding this place again. But either way, I got the berries that you requested," as he extended a pouch filled with Oran berries.

Jessie took three out of the pouch that Ash gave her and put the rest in the satchel that she had taken with her. As she removed the third she said, "These ones will do." When she placed the remaining ones in her bag she moved to the camp table that she had set up and cut them into smaller pieces before going on to grind them into powder so she could use it as a spice. After she was done Jessie placed the ground Oran berries into a jar to keep for later use. She went over to the boiling pot and sprinkled some of the spice over it, allowing it to sink into the broth naturally. Ten minutes later she took it off the fire and placed it on a heat-proof mat on the camp table that was between two bowls on either side of the table. As she did so, behind her back a Riolu stumbled into the clearing. Ash, who had just sat down, got up from his seat like a rocket, and grabbed his bag on the way past Jessie, who asked, "Ash, what're you..." then she saw what Ash saw and rushed over there herself.

When she got there she saw Ash propping the Riolu's head up and heard him say, "Okay Riolu, I know that this is probably going to sting a little, but it _will_ heal you." Ash then sprayed some super potion on Riolu's wounds, which made them disappear completely. When they were gone the Riolu jumped up and scooted away from Ash and backed up against a tree. Ash, not moving from his position, said in a soothing voice, "Don't worry Riolu, I'm not going to hurt you," as he reached into his bag. Riolu's eyes widened in fear, but lost their size as Ash withdrew one of the Oran berries that he hadn't given to Jessie. He threw it to the ground halfway between him and the Riolu. The Riolu hesitantly went to the food and picked it up, and sniffing it before eating it in one gulp. Ash smiled and asked, "How's that? Better?" The Riolu replied with a happy grunt before it collapsed due to exhaustion, content that the human wasn't going to hurt it like the other ones that he ran into. Ash said to Jessie, "Right, I'm going to catch Riolu for now, at least until we can get it to the Pokécentre in Pallet Town Port." Ash then reached into his bag and withdrew a Pokéball that was green with yellow and red teardrops where a normal Pokéball would be red.

Jessie widened her eyes as she exclaimed, "Ash, is that...?"

"Yeah, it's the Friend Ball that you gave me when we were seven."

"You still have it!"

"Well...yeah, of course I do, don't you still have that Heal Ball?"

Jessie blushed as she thought of what Ash had done as she had done the exact same thing. "Yeah, I brought it with me too."

Ash smiled and said, "Well then, all's good in the world," while thinking '_She kept it...Yes!_' He then tapped the Riolu with his Friend Ball and it wobbled in his hand a few times before 'dinging', signifying that it was indeed captured. Ash then turned to Jessie and said, "Right, we need to finish our lunch quick-smart and then hightail it to the Pokécentre."

"Right," Jessie replied before they both returned to the table and inhaled the food before packing the cooking material into a bag and running to the Pokécentre.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When they got to the Pokécentre they ran to the front desk and, panting, Ash said, "Nurse Joy...please...Ri...lu...need...help..."

Nurse Joy said, "Alright, now just calm down and try again."

After a few deep breaths Ash said, "Alright, I just caught a Riolu in the forest, I think that it had been attacked by a Poison type Pokémon. I sprayed a Super Potion on it and gave it an Oran berry, but I don't have an Antidote, so we rushed it here."

"Thank you, you did the right thing. I'll take care of Riolu for you. Do you want me to take a look at your other Pokémon for you too?"

Jessie said, "No, there's no need, we just got them and we haven't used them in a battle or anything like that yet."

Nurse Joy said, "Well, that's fine I guess, although sometimes it is a good idea to have them checked out anyway."

"Well, you might be right. Alright I'll give you mine after you finish healing Ash's Riolu."

"Alright, I'll see you in a few minutes."

While Nurse Joy was taking care of Riolu Ash and Jessie decided to go and have some dinner at the Pokécentre's Cafeteria. Whilst they were having their dinner they heard some noise at the reception area and thought that it must be Nurse Joy finished with Riolu, so they wolfed down the rest of their dinner and went to the reception. There was no one there. Ash said, "That's strange, there's nobody here...you did hear the noise that I heard, right?"

"Yeah, I heard it too. There's something fishy going on here. We'd better be prepared for trouble."

"Yeah, you're right Jessie. We're both here so we'll be doubly prepare..."

Just then a light shone in through the clear double glass doors and in front of it stepped two people. A male voice said, "I think that that's our cue."

"Indeed you should prepare for double," a female voice said.

"And you should certainly make it double."

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

Then another, smaller, figure appeared, jumping down in between the two of them, saying, "Meowth! That's right!"

Ash and Jessica(1) thought, '_So lame!_' before Ash asked, "So...who are you really?"

Jessie demanded, "didn't you hear what we just said you brat!"

Ash thought '_Father, I know that we hate each other, but did you really need to set these two lamos on us?_' Ash sighed and said, "So, what are two crooks from Team Rocket doing here? Up to no good I'll be bound."

James said, "Your spot on there brat, we're here to acquire all of the Pokémon in this Pokécentre."

"Acquire? You mean steal, right?"

"Indeed we do, and there's not a thing that you can do about it."

"Oh," Ash said, raising an eyebrow, "is that so? Just why would that be I wonder?"

"Because, twerp, you are obviously a new trainer that probably just received a Pokémon with little to no battle experience. Whereas we," James said, indicating himself and Jessie, "Have Pokémon that have gone through many battles," '_even if they were just with Caterpie and Weedle,_' "That's why you'll lose to us."

"Well then, why don't we find out? Deino, I choose you!" Ash called out as he threw his only Pokéball that contained a Pokémon towards the two freaks in front of him. Out of the silver light that appeared when a Pokémon comes out of their Pokéball, a blue and black Irate Dragon Pokémon materialised.

Jessie looked at James and asked, "Hey James, what's that thing?"

"Hmm...He said that it was a Deino, right?"

"Yeah he did," Meowth said, "I've never hoid of no Pokémon called Deino before."

"Hmm...I think that I've heard of it before somewhere, but where...Ah well, go Koffing!"

Ash silently evaluated James' Koffing, thinking, "_Normally Koffing aren't that energetic, that stops them from excreting their gases too much, but that Koffing in front of us seems to be rather excitable. There's no telling what will happen with that thing in battle...which means that I'll need to..._"

Just then, to his left Jessica drew a Pokéball and made to throw it, saying, "Come on out, Charmand...," before her arm was forcefully gripped by Ash, stopping her from calling out her starter Pokémon. She looked at Ash and demanded, "Ash Ketchum, what're you..."

"Jessie look at that Koffing, don't you think something is weird about it?"

"Well, other than the colour of the Skull 'n' Cross Bones on its chest, not really."

"You don't think that it's too excited do you?"

"Excited...what do you..." Jessie's eyes widened as she realised what Ash was getting at, "Oh! Then you think that...?"

"Yeah, that's exactly what I think."

"Alright then, he's all yours. Just let me have that bitch who dares to dress like that if she interferes."

"Yeah, sure thing."

Meanwhile Jessie and James had been getting more and more annoyed as the two brats in front of them seemed to continue to ignore them. When Jessie heard Jessica call her a bitch and insult the clothes that she was wearing practically exploded. Her eyes glowing red, she yelled, "What was that you little brat!"

"I'm sure that you heard me...Jessie was it?"

Jessie growled, "I'll have you know that I made these awesome clothes myself. The normal Team Rocket uniform just isn't fashionable!"

Jessica turned to Ash and, knowing about his relation to Giovanni, asked, "Normal uniform?"

"Yeah, the white is usually black," Ash replied.

James demanded, "Wha...How do you know how to recognise members of Team Rocket."

"That's irrelevant. Deino, use Dragon Rage." An orb of black energy gathered in Deino's mouth as it gathered energy for its attack.

While Deino was gathering energy James said, "Alright Koffing, use Smokescreen." Koffing spun around, shooting a cloud of thick smoke as it spun around in one spot for quite some time. Before long James said, "Alright Koffing, that's enough, now use Smog attack."

"Deino, use Dark Pulse." At her trainer's command Deino opened its mouth, causing a light purple orb surrounded in black and purple circles to appear inside it. It then launched a beam of black and purple circles from the orb inside its mouth at the enemy Koffing, hitting it even through the thick smoke. As Koffing went flying into the wall above the double doors Ash thought '_Hey, that Koffing just used smog, could these two be..._' as the smoke cleared he yelled, "Hey, are you two freaks the ones that did that to Riolu?"

Jessie asked, "So what if we are?"

"I'll never forgive you!" Ash said, his eyes taking on a blue glint, causing him to see the objects in the surrounding area with a fiery dark indigo aura emanating around them. Ash thought, '_What is this? And what's with all these weird purple auras I'm seeinh...hmm...well, there'll be time later to search for answers, for now I can see through this Smokescreen with it, so that's one thing out of the way, now..._' "Ok ay Deino, use Focus Energy." Deino started glowing red as it increased its attacking prowess.

While Deino was raising its powers of attack, James said, "You're yet to learn the basics of any battle, brat."

"The basics of battle, what do you mean by that?"

"No matter how strong an attack is, brat, it doesn't matter if it can't touch the opponent. Koffing, use a full-powered Smokescreen."

Koffing started spewing a cloud of thick smoke from its mouth. This smoke was denser than the previous cloud that had been produced. It didn't matter one jot though as Ash could easily see through it with the weird ability that he had somehow gained. Ash said, "Deino, use Dark Pulse and aim it just below from where you fired the previous one."

Due to its trainers description, and its own innate ability to see through thick smoke, Deino's Dark Pulse once again hit Koffing, this time blowing it into James and sending the two crashing through the double doors of the Pokémon centre. Seeing her partner get blown through the doors Jessie growled and said, "Right, that's it you brat, you're done for. Go Ekans."

As the Ekans emerged from the Pokéball Ash said, "Deino, use..."

Jessica cut Ash off before he could finish declaring an attack, saying, "Hold it right there Ash, this bitch is mine. Like you I can't forgive them, albeit for a different reason."

"Jessie..." Ash sighed and said, "Alright then, she's all yours. Deino, come over here, this next one is Jessie's." Deino acknowledged the order and walked over to Ash and turned around to watch the ensuing battle.

Jessie said, "What's your problem with us?"

"Other than what you are doing here I can't stand that someone with the same name as me could possibly have such a ridiculous taste in clothes."

This slight made Jessie see red, "I thought I told you that we made them ourselves."

Jessica sighed and said, "I know, and that only compounds your crime." Hearing the two females interact had Ash pinching the bridge of his nose in disbelief. "Anyway, now that your partner is out of here I don't have anything holding me back. Go Charmander."

"A Charmander? If that's all you've got you've got no chance against me girly."

Jessica, completely ignoring the older female that was pissing her off to an extent no-one other than Leaf had managed to do so, said, "Charmander, use Metal Claw." Charmander's claws took on a metallic sheen as it raced towards Ekans and hit it with its hardened claws. The steel type attack severely damaged Ekans, sending it flying into Jessie, causing them to join James outside the Pokémon centre. Seeing its teammates fly out the doors of the Pokécentre, and the two that caused it closing in on it, with their Pokémon in front of them, Meowth skedaddled away, back through the doors and to Jessie and James.

As Jessie and James looked up at the doors of the Pokémon centre Ash and Jessica appeared through them, their Pokémon in front of them. Simultaneously they said, "Charmander/Deino, use Ember/Dark Pulse now!" the two Pokémon shot their respective attacks at Team Rocket. Causing an explosion and the criminals to fly off, into the night sky, screaming, "Team Rocket's blasting off!"

Seeing the crooks and their Pokémon fly off Ash turned to Jessie and said, "Well, that was eventful, how about we go see about Riolu now?"

"Sounds like a plan Ash," Jessie said as they returned their Pokémon to their respective Pokéballs.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A/N

1. When Jessie from Team Rocket is in the scene I shall refer to Ash's friend as Jessica when describing her actions, but Ash will refer to her as Jessie and Jessie from Team Rocket as 'you'


	3. Hoenn Together

The next morning Ash and Jessie were up bright and early. They had packed their bags and had had breakfast before 8 AM, which was a good thing as the boat to the Hoenn Region left at 10 o'clock. When they got to the ship they found that there were no other passengers queuing up for it, so they just boarded it without any hassles. They were shown to their self-contained room, which had two separate bedrooms, each with an ensuite, a kitchenette and both living and dining areas. Once the two trainers were shown their rooms the steward told them to not leave their rooms until they were underway, as it there would be people running all about the place and there would be hell to pay if either one or two children, even if they are Pokémon Trainers, got trampled underfoot. The two trainers accepted the instruction for what it was without complaint.

After the steward left Ash turned to Jessie and said, "Well Jessie, I suppose we could let our Pokémon out of their Pokéballs for the time being. What do you think?"

"Yeah, I think that that'd be a good idea," Jessie said as she retrieved two of her Pokéballs from her trainer's belt.

Ash reciprocated his friend's actions as he asked, "Why'd you take two Pokéballs from your belt Jessie?"

Jessie smiled as she answered Ash's question with one of her own, "You don't think that you're the only one that can capture a Pokémon on their first day as a trainer did you?"

"Huh...but when did...ohh!" Ash said as he thought back to when he was sent to look for Oran Berries, "...when I went to get the Oran Berries, right?"

"Yep," Jessie smiled as she said, "Come on out," and tossed her Pokéballs in the air. In twin bursts of light Jessie's Charmander burst forth alongside a yellow bug with two large, red, antennae on its head.

Ash asked, "So, you caught yourself a Caterpie, a pretty rare one by the looks of it too."

"Yeah, I sure did. It came wandering into that clearing that we were having lunch in and I gave it some of the Pokémon food that I made before leaving and it started humping my leg, kind of like it is now."

Ash, looking down, saw that the shiny Caterpie was indeed humping his friend's leg. He squatted down next to it and tapped it on its shoulder, saying, "You're a pretty perverted Pokémon, ain't ya?" Caterpie stopped what it was doing as it turned to look at Ash. When it had Ash in his sights it nodded before spraying Ash's face with String Shot and then going back to what it was doing. Ash's right eye, through his String Shot mask, started to visibly twitch and he quickly brushed all of the sticky thread off of his face and hair, although some was still in it. Ash then said, "Alright guys, come on out," as he released his Pokémon. In two beams of light Riolu and Deino burst from their Pokéballs. Ash said, "Riolu, use Blaze Kick on that perverted bug." Riolu acknowledged the order as her foot caught fire. Riolu then raced forward and kicked the Caterpie away from Jessie. The Caterpie went flying into the wall of the cabin.

When the first Pokémon she caught was kicked away from her Jessie's gaze shot from Ash to where it had landed. Seeing it unconscious she rushed to its side and cradled it in her lap as she angrily glared at Ash before demanding, "Ash Ketchum, you apologise this instant!"

Ash incredulously looked at his friend of many years as he thought, '_She can't honestly mean that...can she?_' He said, "I'm sorry Jessie, but I won't be apologising for this one."

"What?" Jessie asked, confused as whenever she had asked Ash to apologise before he had always done so.

"No matter how you might see it, that perverted insect was molesting you. I don't see how protecting my friend is something that I should apologise for."

"He's not perverted, he's just got some distorted beliefs."

"Oh yeah?" Ash sardonically asked.

"Yeah," Jessie vehemently retorted.

"Then what's he doing now?"

"What do you..." Jessie started to ask as she felt something rubbing against her chest. Getting a weird look on her face(stunned disbelief) she looked down at her Caterpie, only to see it rubbing its head against her chest. "...Well, maybe he is a little."

Ash's forehead met his palm as he said, "Saying that that bug is 'a little' perverted, is like saying Charizard is just an overgrown lizard." Hearing the name of its fully evolved version, Jessie's Charmander twisted its head to the side. Ash sighed and said, "You'll need to work on Caterpie's horniness before you try and use him in any contests."

Jessie sighed and said, "Yeah, you're probably right."

"Of course I am," Ash said, feigning self-importance.

Jessie sighed, smiled, and said, "You are aware that I don't buy that arrogant act of yours any more than you do."

Ash smiled and said, "Yeah, I know, but at least it can always get you to smile, even if only in exasperation."


End file.
